BERLIN - Korean tech giant Samsung is trying to get ahead of the curve in the smartphone war with its first mainstream dual-screen smartphone.

The secret weapon of the new Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is a curved 5.6-inch display that extends and wraps around the right side of the smartphone. This curved screen gives the Note Edge the ability to offer two sources of display.

Users can read incoming SMS messages off the smaller notification window while checking their e-mail messages off the main screen. They can also use the built-in Edge panel window notifications to display items such as weather information and news headlines on the smaller, slimmer window, while viewing something else on the main screen.

The Galaxy Note Edge is a variant of the company’s highly successful Samsung Galaxy Note series of phablet devices that come with the S Pen stylus. The new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes with a 5.7-inch Super Amoled screen, powered by a 2.7 GHz processor.

A visitor holds a new Samsung Galaxy Note Edge smartphone after its presentation at the Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event ahead of the IFA Electronics show in Berlin on Sept 3, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A visitor holds a new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smartphone after its presentation at the Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event ahead of the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, on Sept 3, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

A new Samsung Galaxy Note Edge smartphone is pictured after its presentation at the Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event ahead of the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, on Sept 3, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Korean tech giant Samsung is trying to get ahead of the curve in the smartphone war with its first mainstream dual-screen smartphone. -- ST PHOTO: SHERWIN LOH